Celebrate President’s Day!
Presidents’ Day is also known as Washington’s Birthday at the Federal governmental level. It is a holiday in the United States. The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of February. President’s Day honors all those who served as President of the United States. It sits in between Valentines Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Neither of these are actually holidays, but are events that we celebrate and enjoy. The day is an official holiday in most states. The next Federal holiday we will celebrate is Memorial Day in May.
Learn a Little History of President’s Day
President’s Day has been a Federal holiday since 1879. At that time, it honored Founding Father George Washington. He led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War. Washington presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was also the first President of the United States.
The Federal holiday honoring Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington. It expanded in 1885 to include all Federal offices. As the first Federal holiday to honor an American President, it was celebrated on Washington’s birthday (February 22) under the Gregorian calendar. On January 1, 1971, the Federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This was done to provide workers with a three-day weekend.
